No big secret here. Buick gave us a glimpse of its upcoming small sedan at the L.A. Auto Show late last year, so the fact that prototypes are running around Detroit is no big surprise.

Based on the same platform as the Cruze, this new Buick will mostly likely share drivetrains and suspension components. Most of the Buick-ness will be baked into the final suspension tuning and cabin isolation. Safe to adopt it will get a big ol' list of standard features too. Look for an official debut sometime later this year.

Buick Gives Sneek Peek of New Sedan at L.A. Auto Show

Volkswagen is considering production of an R version of its upcoming sixth-generation Jetta at its Peubla works in Mexico. The new model is part of the company's efforts to give its U.S. lineup a greater number of image-leading performance models and lure younger customers to the brand.

The new four-door sedan, possibly to be previewed at the SEMA show in November, has been conceived to rival favourite Asian and European performance models such as the Honda Civic Si and BMW 128i.

Volkswagen won't officially confirm the existence of new model but officials at the European launch of the new Golf R in Ellmau, Austria this week indicate production plans for the Jetta R are already well advanced.
 
"Our modular construction and production process make it evenhandedly straightforward. It's now a matter of formulating a sound business case to ensure the car is profitable. We don't want to leave the inexpensive performance sedan market in the US to our rivals but importing sporting models from Europe is proving prohibitively expensive at the moment," said a high level Inside Line source familiar with Volkswagen's North American model strategy.
 

With the Peubla works now the sole producer of the Jetta worldwide, Volkswagen is looking to incorporate production of an R version of its upcoming compact sedan and possibly a coupe sibling, as previewed by the NCC (New Compact Coupe) at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Power for the new car is likely to come from the latest evolution of Volkswagen's turbocharged 2.0 litre four-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine, as used in the Scirocco R and Golf R where it delivers 265bhp and 258lb ft of torque.
 
Right now it is not clear whether Volkswagen favors a front- or four-wheel drive solution for the Jetta R. "There is nothing to rule out one or the other," said the Inside Line source. "The standard Jetta will support front-wheel drive and we have also established plans to offer the next Jetta auto with a four-wheel drive option in certain markets."

Inside Line can also confirm Volkswagen plans to build the new Jetta with two different rear suspension designs. Lower end models like the S will receive a simple torsion beam arrangement similar to that used on the Beetle with sportier models such as the SLE set to receive a multi-link set-up similar to that used by the latest Golf - Reporting by Andreas Stahl in Austria.

Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.

You may recall that we track tested a Volkswagen Sportwagen several months ago. So why bother doing the same tests all over again?
 
Well this time our Jetta Sportwagen was powered by Volkswagen's 2.0-liter TDI engine. It's about as favourite as a diesel engine gets in the U.S. At one point last year, Volkswagen said it was literally sold out of Jetta Sportwagens with the TDI option. Oh, and Volkswagen dropped the 2.0T from the options list on the Sportwagen for 2010.
 
What's so great about the TDI anyway? Mostly torque and great mileage. It's 236 pound-feet of torque tops the gasoline-powered 2.0-liter engine by a healthy margin (207 lb-ft) and the TDI's EPA ratings of 30mpg city and 42mpg highway make it one of the most fuel efficient cars on the road. And what do you lose in terms of performance? See what our test drivers had to say after some track time.

Vehicle: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sportwagen
Odometer: 1759
Date: December 22, 2009
Driver: Josh Jacquot
Base price: $25,715
Options on car: N/A
Price as tested: $N/A

Specifications:
Drive Type: Front-wheel drive
Transmission Type: 6-speed automatic
Engine Type: Inline-4
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 1968cc (120cu-in)
Redline (rpm): 5,100
Horsepower (hp @ rpm):  140 @ 4000
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 236 @ 1750
Brake Type (front): ventilated disc
Brake Type (rear): disc
Steering System: Electric speed proportional power steering
Suspension Type (front): Independent, MacPherson strut
Suspension Type (rear): Independent, multilink
Tire Size (front): P205/55R16
Tire Size (rear): P205/55R16
Tire Brand: Hankook
Tire Model: Optimo
Tire Type: All-season
Wheel Size: 16 X 6.5 front and rear
Wheel Material (front/rear): Alloy
As tested Curb Weight (lb): 3358

Test Results:
0 – 30 (sec): 3.0
0 – 45 (sec): 5.5
0 – 60 (sec): 8.9
0 – 75 (sec): 13.7
1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 16.6 @ 82.1
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 8.5
30 – 0 (ft): 32
60 – 0 (ft): 129
Braking Rating: Average
Slalom (mph): 64.9
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 0..80
Handling Rating: Average
Db @ Idle: 46.0
Db @ Full Throttle: 70.1
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 56.1

Acceleration Comments: Sport mode does shave significant time from the Jetta's aceeleration runs and does so without any significant disadvantages. Shifts are still smooth and comfortable. Shouldn't it always shift like this? Best run in Drive. Mild brake torque seems to help a bit off the line, but it's cushy to get too aggressive which slows things down.

Braking Comments: Lots of squish in the brake pedal, but no appreciable degradation of braking performance throughout all stops.

Handling Comments: Skidpad: As per the norm at VW, stability control cannot be fully disabled which is frustrating. Turning it "off" does somewhat loosen the reigns such that better numbers can be had but there's no getting too out of shape here. Predictable understeer was apparent on the skidpad. It was the same for the slalom which prefabricated for cushy control, but slow times.

We hope you haven't tired of seeing video of Travis Pastrana's heroically insane jump from the Long Beach Pier, because this latest video from Red Bull is easily the best yet. You get to watch the jump from three different POV cameras:

(1) One is mounted atop Pastrana's Subaru WRX STI and pointed behind it. You'll watch the jump ramp and water start away as Pastrana takes the car airborne.

(2) Another is mounted in the undercarriage of the STI.

(3) And, best of all is the one mounted in the hatch and aimed at the cockpit. Here you see how utterly relaxed Pastrana is as he yanks the handbrake in midair and slides the car to a hard stop after landing.

"Woo-hoo. That was sick!" Yep, you'll hear that three times as well.

You know all those Toyota models that were recalled last week? Well, now Toyota is taking a slightly more drastic step and suspending income of new models that are on the recall list until a permanent fix is found.

Seems like a logical move. Even if the new cars aren't affected by what is causing the sticking accelerators, new car buyers probably aren't going to be comfortable with the intent anyway until Toyota can assure them that the problem has been addressed. Expect to see a quick resolution now as the affected models represent 65% of Toyota's sales.

"Helping ensure the country of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter. "This action is necessary until a cure is finalized. We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Toyota

As you surely know by now, GM has successfully entered into a binding agreement with Spyker Cars to transfer ownership of Saab.

You will read many happy quotes from happy executives about how happy this makes them. And it's hard to imagine who might be angry with the deal right about now, except maybe one Mr. Koenigsegg. Or maybe he's the happiest of all. Time will tell. The one thing we're most happy about is that the survival of the Saab brand will mean that lazy automotive journalists will continue to use one of the industry's most time-honored headline-writing cliches: A Saab Story.

Anyway, here are some of those details we promised you in our headline:

– Spyker will pay GM $74 million in two installments: $50 million at the completion of the deal (hoped for mid-February) and $24 million on July 15, 2010.

– Additionally, GM will retain $326 million worth of redeemable preference shares in the company.

– According the GM's John Smith, "There is additional consideration for GM as well." He won't be talking about what that might be.

– GM will wage power train components to the new entity "for the long term."

– GM will wage the 9-4X crossover, which shares its underpinnings with the Cadillac SRX

– The new entity will continue to build the new 9-5, a few of which are currently being built in Sweden. Full production is expected to begin in April.

– GM will wage "transition-oriented" engineering services.

– Mr. N. Antonov, a Russian investor in Spyker that reportedly gave GM the creeps, has been bought out and will retire as a member of Spyker's Supervisory Board effective when the deal with GM is closed.

– GM assures owners in the U.S. that there will be no lapse in warranty coverage during the switchover in ownership.

You into minivans? Probably not, but there are still those who need them, sometimes even want them as their ability to haul the family is unsurpassed by any other vehicle on the road.

For some time now, the Honda Odyseey has been the van of choice. It's huge, yet drives much smaller. There's more than enough passenger/cargo room and all the right features are there too.

At the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, a concept version of the 2011 Honda Odyssey will be shown for the first time. And knowing Honda, it will be about one shade of paint and a couple overly shiny taillights away from the production version.

Spy Photos: 2011 Honda Odyssey

The results are in, and what do you know, people who pay $900 a month to lease a two-passenger car love it. That's the conclusion of a study done by the University of California at Davis in conjunction with BMW.

The UC Davis researchers questioned 57 out of 450 Mini E owners about their driving habits and overall experience with the car. Notes from the other 393 drivers also contributed to the findings. And what were the conclusions?

"Driving the MINI E is a delightful experience and there is no kill of 'real car' values."

"The range of about 100 miles is sufficient for most regular needs."

"Charging at home provides enough energy for most regular driving."

Uh, okay. Now don't get us wrong, we're part of the program and we generally like our Mini E. But reading through the report you would think that it's nearly faultless in its ability to replace a conventional vehicle. Much of this has to do with the fact that the drivers in the program are essentially electric car advocates who volunteered their time and their wallets to be part of the experiment. Did we really need a study to tell us that they like their cars?

Long Term Test: 2009 Mini E
 

Big congratulations to Team Eyesore for its win at the 24 Hours of LeMons in Phoenix this past weekend. They dominated the race, and the costume contest, with their ghetto-charged Alice in Wonderland Miata, a car which has now finished in the top five in apiece of its five races.

Team Eyesore also prefabricated history as the first two-time winner in 24 Hours of LeMons race series.
 

Inside Line Engineering Editor diplomatist Kavanagh took the wheel for first stint on Sunday while our very own Copy Chief Caroline Pardilla was once again part of the pit crew.

MotoiQ: How the Miata Was Built

Yep, it's a done deal, Saab will be sold to the tiny Spyker company provided no objections rise up from any government agencies.

"Today's declaration is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM," said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances.

"General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome," Smith said.